Process for structuring and managing the configuration of industrial products, and particularly aircraft

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a process for structuring and managing the configuration of an industrial product using processing means comprising at least one processor, a memory, data input means and a display screen, in which:  
     a set of technical objects is described, each technical object either representing a product function (EPAC), or describing an implementation method (TDU) for such a product function, in order to achieve a configuration of this product;  
     a database is updated to specify the definition of each technical object and of rules and constraints;  
     this database is used interactively and dynamically through a selection of options.

DESCRIPTION

[0001] 1. Technical Domain

[0002] This invention relates to a process for structuring and managingthe configuration of industrial products, and particularly aircraft.

[0003] 2. State of the Art

[0004] A patent application according to known art, EP-0 899 672,discloses a computer-aided process for structuring data concerning theconfiguration of products, for example aircraft, and to configure theseproducts. This process is used to collect, structure and display thistype of data and to use them to produce a computer program thatvalidates product option selections and configures such a product. Whenproduct data objects are selected, an operator is invited to enter thespecific data belonging to the selected object. Constraints limitselections that the operator can make, the appearance of these objects,and configurations that may be produced from the selected objects. Databelonging to the selected objects and their configurations are stored ina database. Changes may be made directly in the data stored in thedatabase, and these changes are reproduced in a corresponding display.After production of a knowledge map that graphically displays the datanecessary to configure the product, the data are retrieved from thisdatabase to produce a set of rules that are entered into the program tovalidate a set of product option selections and to configure a finalproduct defined by the resulting modules.

[0005] This process is a graphic structuring, input, data storage andmanagement process to configure a product, taking account of optionsselected by a customer. But it does not disclose interactive and dynamicuse of these data during the exercise to define the product with acustomer.

[0006] The purpose of the invention is to overcome this disadvantage andto provide a process for structuring and managing the complete processto configure an industrial product, and particularly an aircraft forexample such as an Airbus type as it is sold to customers, and in thiscase to trigger the process for construction of this aircraft in theassembly lines.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This invention relates to a process for structuring and managingthe configuration or an industrial product and particularly an aircraft,using processing means comprising at least one processor, a memory, datainput means and a display screen, in which:

[0008] a set of technical objects is described, each technical objecteither representing a product function (EPAC), or describing animplementation method (TDU) for such a product function to make aconfiguration of this product,

[0009] a database is updated to specify the definition of each technicalobject and its inter-relations with other objects of the configurationby an expression of rules and constraints;

[0010] this database is used interactively and dynamically through achoice of options;

[0011] this database is used interactively and dynamically during theproduct definition made with this customer, through a selection ofoptions.

[0012] It is advantageous to use:

[0013] a knowledge management module,

[0014] a contract management module,

[0015] an administration module,

[0016] a mass management module,

[0017] a tariff management module,

[0018] all working on the database.

[0019] Advantageously, in one functional approach, the aircraft isconsidered as a set of functions.

[0020] The contract management module may operate in connected ordisconnected mode.

[0021] It is possible to use

[0022] an EPAC/TDU oriented configuration in which the options (EPAC)and the corresponding technical solutions (TDU) are chosen directly in alist sorted by ATA chapter, job category and sales policy, thisselection being made either individually or globally due to a globalprocedure used to attach a possible aircraft application, a weight and aprice to a set of options in the same functional domain, or

[0023] a functional oriented configuration that provides a functionalapproach used to directly select EPAC/TDU technical objects specifyingthe required properties of a functional characteristic.

[0024] The contract manager can initiate a configuration checkingprocess at any time.

[0025] Unlike patent application EP-0 899 672 mentioned above thatemphasizes modeling of technical objects and the description of theirinter-relations in a constraints graph, but which leaves littleopportunity for the use of this graph during the definition of the saidobjects with customers, the process according to the invention uses theopposite approach and makes use of:

[0026] simple modeling of rules and constraints in the database;

[0027] interactive and dynamic use (“Front-Office Application”) of theseconstraints during the definition of the industrial product.

[0028] Furthermore, the process according to the invention does not useany graphic representation or management.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029]FIG. 1 illustrates the different modules used in the processaccording to the invention.

[0030]FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of the process accordingto the invention.

[0031]FIG. 3 illustrates the operating steps of a specific patentapplication according to the invention.

DETAILED PRESENTATION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

[0032] The case of the Airbus type aircraft configuration is consideredas an example throughout the remainder of this description, however theconfiguration of any other industrial product would be quite possible,for example helicopters, automobiles, etc.

[0033] This invention relates to a process for structuring and managingthe configuration of an aircraft using a computer 9 that in particularincludes a processor, a memory, data input means, for example a keyboardand a mouse, and a display screen, in which:

[0034] a set of technical objects is described, each technical objecteither representing a function of the aircraft (EPAC), or describing animplementation method (TDU) for such an aircraft function to create anaircraft configuration, these objects representing implementationoptions for this aircraft proposed to a customer;

[0035] a known database is updated to clarify the definition of eachtechnical object, and its inter-relations with the other objects in theconfiguration by an expression of rules and constraints;

[0036] this database is used interactively and dynamically during thedefinition of this aircraft carried out with this customer through achoice of options.

[0037] More precisely, this process uses five modules, for which thestate may be illustrated on the display screen and modified using inputmeans:

[0038] a knowledge management module (11) (“Back Office Module”, the“Back office” being technical documentation and validation work that isdone in close cooperation with design offices and program managers),which is dedicated to the management of all Airbus entities includingdocumentation generation, in other words the standard specification andcatalogues. For example, these entities are EPAC technical objects eachrepresenting an aircraft function, some of these functions beingcompulsory (for example the motor drive), TDU technical objects eachdescribing a solution to implement an EPAC technical object (several TDUtechnical solutions may be proposed for one EPAC function), thedefinition of standard characteristics, the catalogue definition, etc.

[0039] a contract management module 12 (“Front Office Module”, the“Front Office” being use of the work done by the “Back Office” fortechnical-sales engineers working with the customer) that is dedicatedto the management of fleet configurations including the generation ofcontract documentation;

[0040] an administration module 13 that is dedicated to the managementof user profiles, either in “Back Office” or in “Front Office”;

[0041] a mass management module 14, either in the “Back Office” or the“Front Office”.

[0042] In FIG. 1, the “Back Office” and “Front Office” parts are markedwith references 16 and 17 respectively.

[0043] These five modules work on the same database 18. The system usingthe process according to the invention has interfaces with other datasystems belonging to the Airbus company; for example with the cabinlayout configuration system 20 as shown in FIG. 1, with productmanagement and the ACC (“Aircraft Configuration Control”) system forcommunication with partners of the Airbus company. The ACC system is acomputer tool used to manage the industrial configuration of allaircraft and to launch the necessary work orders.

[0044] The database 18 is used to update the ACC databases 21 sharedparticularly between the Airbus company and its partners in order tomanage production orders.

[0045] Statistics may be extracted from the database 18 to supply dataabout the use of TDU technical objects, the definition of the aircraftof a customer, or the internal operating efficiency of the Airbuscompany.

[0046] The Knowledge Management Module 11 (in “Back Office”)

[0047] This module 11 is intended to satisfy the needs of cataloguespecialists and engineers. This module is used to create and updatesolutions defining entities proposed by the Airbus company to itscustomers, and to produce a technical aircraft documentation (standardcharacteristics and option catalogues).

[0048] The technical solutions proposed by the Airbus company aredebugged according to the breakdown into EPAC/TDU. The first two digitsof the EPAC technical object correspond to the ATA result; ATA is aninternationally recognized breakdown of the functions of an aircraft.

[0049] This knowledge management module 11 manages the creation andupdating of all EPAC and TDU technical objects.

[0050] The description of a TDU technical object includes:

[0051] an equipment breakdown,

[0052] a text,

[0053] and drawings.

[0054] Further data are related to the TDU technical object, such as theimpact of the weight on the aircraft or the price.

[0055] The process related to a TDU technical object can be used tomemorize a policy, which is a means of classifying the TDU technicalobject as a function of the sales policy decided upon by the Airbuscompany.

[0056] In liaison with an EPAC technical object, the process accordingto the invention is used to memorize a job category. This job categoryis used to sort the different EPAC technical objects and it may be usedto filter EPAC technical objects that can be used by a particular User;for example, cabin engineers work mainly on cabin elements.

[0057] All these data are used and compiled during generation of thetechnical documentation.

[0058] Logical relations are used between EPAC technical objects and/orbetween TDU technical objects. These relations actually express all theknowledge of specialists and are available to contract managers. Theyenable an expression of the links between different options in terms ofincompatibility or prior acceptance. The introduction of this type ofconstraint guarantees the consistency and the complete nature of thefuture configuration.

[0059] These constraints may be applied in two different ways:

[0060] a “hard” manner; the constraints are automatically applied by thecontract management module 12 without any action by the user;

[0061] a “soft” manner: the user is informed by the contract managementmodule 12 that there is a constraint, but the user can avoid it.

[0062] Each specialist can define the following in relation to aconstraint:

[0063] an explanation,

[0064] a warning.

[0065] The process according to the invention proposes a functionalapproach, in addition to a conventional approach consisting of browsingthrough an ATA decomposition.

[0066] This functional approach is a means of considering an aircraft asa set of functions and no longer as a set of EPAC/TDU technical objects.This enables a much more efficient aircraft design; with this type ofdecomposition, the process according to the invention can be used toconfigure an aircraft by specifying the required aircraft functionsrather than by selecting individual TDU technical objects.

[0067] These two approaches are possible simultaneously with the processaccording to the invention; it is thus possible to configure an aircrafteither using the functional approach or the conventional approach.However, since aircraft functions are used by TDU technical objects, ineach approach the result of a configuration remains a set of TDUtechnical objects.

[0068] The technical documentation considered here includes aspecification, in other words an understandable description of astandard aircraft, and the catalogue of options (optional TDU technicalobjects that may be used to customize a standard aircraft).

[0069] The process according to the invention makes it easy to view (usedata) the different decompositions, in order to facilitate the user'swork. Data access is simplified because the user can take advantage ofsynthetic and graphic views of the data hierarchy. Similarly, it ispossible to work on a large set of data simultaneously rather than on asingle item of data at a time.

[0070] The specialist is responsible for determining if the deliveredproduct is correct, before issuing a standard specification or acatalogue. Test tools are used to check consistency.

[0071] The ACC application is the current tool used by the Airbuscompany to exchange data with its partners, and to synchronize theaircraft construction process in assembly lines, therefore “Back Office”outputs such as the creation of EPAC and TDU technical objects andmanagement of specific requests are input into the ACC database 21.

[0072] The Contract Management Module 12 (in “Front Office”)

[0073] This module 12 is intended to satisfy the requirements ofcontract managers, cabin engineers and IFE (“In Flight Entertainment”)engineers, IFE including audio/video means available in the cabin of anaircraft.

[0074] These users use this module 12 to define the configuration of theaircraft that forms part of the fleet defined by the Airbus company.This configuration is made up of functions and technical solutionsdefined by the Design Office and selected by the customer. Once theconfiguration has been fixed, the customer is provided with contractdocumentation.

[0075] Since a fleet may be configured taking account of the customer'swishes and during several configuration sessions, this contractmanagement module 12 is designed to work either in connected mode (tothe Airbus company) or in disconnected mode (using a portable). Serversynchronization functions are used to manage “upload” or “download”procedures necessary to synchronize resident and portable databases.This module 12 is used for configuration management in the presence ofthe customer.

[0076] In the configuration exercise, that consists of configuring afleet in accordance with the customer's wishes, wher ver possible basedon options proposed by the Airbus company, the contract manager mustfirstly select the fleet to be configured, and revise the standardspecification that will determine the catalogue revisions available tocustomize the aircraft.

[0077] The contract manager can also display different data about thefleet including the number of aircraft, delivery dates, certificationcapacities, etc.

[0078] This module can be used to configure two types of fleets:

[0079] a normal fleet,

[0080] a fleet in “leasing”.

[0081] In some cases, the contract manager may prepare the configurationof a fleet before it is created in the ACC base. To work byanticipation, he then uses the concept of the preliminary design inorder to create a standard configuration based on a standardspecification revision and not related to a fleet. This concept may alsobe used to study alternative solutions for a fleet configuration.

[0082] Once these data have been defined, the contract manager can startthe configuration exercise that consists of selecting the customer'sneeds. There are two ways of managing the aircraft configuration:

[0083] an EPAC/TDU oriented configuration in which the options (EPAC)and the corresponding technical solutions (TDU) are selected directly ina list sorted by ATA chapter, job category and sales policy. Thisselection may be made either individually or globally using a globalprocedure to attach a possible aircraft application and a mass to a setof options in the same functional domain. The global procedure ismanaged through the global configuration concept (“packages”).

[0084] a functional oriented configuration that provides a functionalapproach in order to directly select EPAC/TDU technical objects byspecifying the required properties of a functional characteristic. Thistype of configuration is available only for some complex subjects andprovides more significant data. But this type of option selection alsoleads to EPAC/TDU technical objects.

[0085] Logical constraints used between EPAC technical objects and/orTDU technical objects express all the specialist's knowledge, and areavailable for use by the contract manager. This knowledge is usedthrough the configuration process, to help contract managers during theaircraft definition step while avoiding errors and guiding theconfiguration.

[0086] At the time of an aircraft configuration, the Airbus company mayencounter a specific need formulated by the customer for which there isno EPAC/TDU technical object. In this case, the contract manager asksthe design office and the partners to study and possibly propose a newsolution. This specific request is processed through a specific process,and the TDU technical objects are sent to it as a reply; if a new TDUtechnical object is created specifically for the said request, this newTDU technical object is used to input data to the system.

[0087] For some selected options, the contract manager can configure theaircraft properties in order to satisfy the customer's needs. Theseproperties are defined by the “Back Office” and are identified as beingconfigurable.

[0088] The contract manager can also set parameters for the selectedoptions in order to satisfy the customer's needs; change the quantitiesof elements in the TDU technical object, give detailed specificationsfor an elements family, to change the BFE/SFE status which representsthe equipment procurement mode; BFE (“Buyer Furnished Equipment”) beingequipment supplied by the customer and SFE (“Seller FurnishedEquipment”) being equipment supplied by the Airbus company. All thesemodifications are taken into account at the time when the contractdocumentation is generated. The text description of the TDU technicalobject (change consequence, impacts of specification, etc.) cannot bechanged. However, the contract manager can modify the final contractdocument once it has been generated.

[0089] When the EPAC/TDU simple or global configuration or thefunctional configuration is used, all logical constraints defined in the“Back office” are checked dynamically. The contract manager is theninformed about each inconsistent selection in order to finally obtain aconsistent and complete fleet configuration. The logical rules used maybe incompatibility or prior acceptance.

[0090] When an individual option is being selected, the contract managercan specify that this option should be installed in “retrofit”, in otherwords off the production line after the aircraft has been delivered.

[0091] Cabin features and IFE specific features are used to take accountof specific features in the process for configuration of thesefunctional domains.

[0092] The contract manager can start a configuration checking processat any time during the configuration exercise, to perform acomplementary check to ensure that the fleet configuration is complete.For example, he can check that at least one TDU technical object hasbeen selected for all compulsory EPAC technical objects, or obtain asummary of all software constraints that have been violated during theconfiguration.

[0093] During the configuration exercise, the contract manager can use astandard catalogue and specification viewer at any time to view thecontents of electronic catalogues or standard “in line” specificationscorresponding to versions of the options catalogue or the standardspecifications of the Airbus company. In this way, he can access acomplete technical description of options supplied by the Airbuscompany; text and graphic descriptions, mass information and thecomponent number are thus all available.

[0094] The exercise to make a detailed definition of an aircraft mayrequire several work sessions and a contract may be effective overseveral years. Changes which have an impact on the customized fleet(movement of an aircraft from one fleet to another, addition or deletionof aircraft in a fleet), etc. may take place during this period of timeand thus make the contents of the contract documentation supplied to thecustomer obsolete. Change management functions are used to detect thesechanges and inform the contract manager to help him make the rightdecisions.

[0095] The contract management module 12 is interfaced with the systemto define the interior of the cabin 20 which may initially be used toattach the reference of the drawing of the cabin interior to an aircraftor a set of aircraft in a fleet, and secondly to retrieve all elementsselected in the cabin, in this module 12. This avoids multiple inputs ofthe same data, and thus guarantees good consistency.

[0096] When a customer selects an option, the contract manager maysupply these data to partners of the Airbus company by activating theinterface to the ACC (industrial aircraft configuration managementsystem). This interface is used to use “Front Office” outputs such asEPAC, TDU technical objects and configuration selections as input to theACC database 21.

[0097] The Administration Module 13

[0098] This module 13 is dedicated to the management of user profiles.Several categories of specialists, each with their own specificcompetence, are involved:

[0099] in the aircraft definition process, these specialists may forexample be contract managers, cabin engineers, IFE engineers, massspecialists;

[0100] in the aircraft design process, these specialists may for examplebe technical specialists, mass specialists and catalogue authorspecialists.

[0101] Since access to functions and data is strongly dependent on theuser profile, this administration module 13 is used to manipulateprofile management.

[0102] The Mass Management Module 14

[0103] Masses are managed by a specific module 14 that uses all datasupplied by the contract management module to calculate the mass of thecustomized configuration produced by the contract manager.

Example Use of the Process According to the Invention

[0104]FIG. 2 shows such an example of use of the process according tothe invention. Starting from an open fleet 30, and the configuration 31of an aircraft is made by making EPAC/TDU selections 32 by usingspecific requests to trace additional requests of the customer 33, doinga global configuration of the cabin and the IFE 34 and by settingparameters for TDU objects 35. This is followed by an ACC communication36 with officialization of the contract definition and production ofdocumentation 38.

[0105] These different phases will be analyzed below.

[0106] Selection (32) of EPAC/TDU Technical Objects

[0107] The following steps take place during this phase:

[0108] the original configuration screen displays all available EPACtechnical objects proposed for the fleet considered by the ATAbreakdown;

[0109] an EPAC technical object (function) is selected followed by a TDUtechnical object (to indicate the selected solution);

[0110] each TDU technical object has a status in the fleet:

[0111] “available” to stop the selection of a previously selected TDUtechnical object;

[0112] “selected” to select a TDU technical object for the fleetconsidered, and define a possible aircraft application;

[0113] all these selections are made official through customer Requestsfor change transmitted in ACC

[0114] The above selections may be made with a graphic interface(“click, drag and drop” type actions carried out using a mouse).

[0115] It is possible to use a filter to restrict the display totechnical objects that have already been decided upon for the fleet.

[0116] It is possible to use an aircraft view and select an aircraft ina list of aircraft so that only options for this aircraft can be seen.

[0117] Different icons illustrated in the selection screens for EPAC/TDUtechnical objects, are used to make validations like those describedabove, and to determine logical incompatibilities; for example for anEPAC/TDU technical object for one or several aircraft in the fleet.

[0118] Different types of constraints may apply to EPAC/TDU technicalobjects:

[0119] prior acceptance: an EPAC or a TDU may require prior acceptanceof another EPAC or TDU;

[0120] an incompatibility: an EPAC or a TDU may be incompatible withanother EPAC or TDU;

[0121] these two types of constraints may be expressed in a “compulsory”or “Informative” manner. If a constraint is compulsory, the relatedtechnical object will be selected automatically. If it is optional, awarning is issued about the constraint and the user is requested toconfirm his decision.

[0122] Exclusive TDUs; an EPAC may comprise an “exclusive TDU” item ofdata input into the “Back Office” that prevents two TDUs from this EPACbeing selected for the same aircraft.

[0123] Specific Request (33)

[0124] This type of request is used when no TDU technical object can befound to satisfy a definition need.

[0125] The diagram shown in FIG. 3 shows the different steps in such arequest, that begins when it is created by the “Front Office” user.

[0126] Global Configuration-Procedure (CABIN, IFE, etc.) (34)

[0127] This phase includes the following steps:

[0128] for a new configuration, the job category concerned is selected;

[0129] an existing global configuration can then be modified;

[0130] the requested TDU technical objects are selected;

[0131] this selection is validated;

[0132] applicability for the global configuration created on one orseveral aircraft in the fleet can be expressed.

[0133] The customer request is then made official in ACC.

[0134] Setting TDU Parameters

[0135] Parameters may be set for the following elements:

[0136] the state and the quantity, as a function of data indicated in“Back Office”;

[0137] the seller, or the seller and the part identification, if theyare not specified in the TDU “Back Office” technical object;

[0138] the properties, that consist of complementary data and arecompulsory wherever they are applicable.

[0139] Setting Parameters for Global Configurations (35)

[0140] In this phase:

[0141] TDU technical objects for the global configuration can be set inthe same way as individual TDUs;

[0142] some complementary details are necessary to make the requestofficial; the reference number of the cabin layout drawing, cabinparameters.

[0143] ACC Communication (36)

[0144] All selected TDU technical objects can be displayed for all ATAS,or one selected ATA, and the corresponding states and numbers can bedisplayed for the generated customer requests.

[0145] Different icons may be seen in the ACC interface screenindicating the following in particular:

[0146] applicability on fleet aircraft;

[0147] the TDU was updated and validated in the “Back Office” after itslast selection;

[0148] an official contract document has already been generated for theTDU, or global configuration

[0149] the officialization state of the customer's request: refused,accepted, being processed.

[0150] Officialization (37)

[0151] This is a means of making the customer's acceptance or rejectionof an option (EPAC, TDU) official for the industrial world.

[0152] Documentation (38)

[0153] This operation is used to:

[0154] create an SCN document based on a “Front Office” TDU technicalobject (“TDU “Back Office”+individualization);

[0155] document modification if necessary;

[0156] print the document if requested;

[0157] save the document and its officialization state.

[0158] A viewer may be used to display the recorded documents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system to structure and manage a configurationof an industrial product, taking account of options selected by acustomer, comprising: means for processing for describing a set oftechnical objects, each technical object either representing a productfunction or describing an implementation method for making a productconfiguration for the product function, the set of technical objectsrepresenting manufacturing options of the industrial product; means forstoring to be updated for clarifying a definition of each technicalobject and its inter-relations with other of the technical objects inthe product configuration by an expression of rules and constraints; andmeans for data input and means for displaying for interactively anddynamically using said means for storing during definition of theproduct, through the selection of the options by the customer.
 2. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein each technical object representseither a function of an aircraft or describes an implementation methodof the aircraft function to create an aircraft configuration.
 3. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein the means for processing comprises:a knowledge management module; a contract management module; anadministration module; and a mass management module; all working on themeans for storing.
 4. A system according to claim 3, wherein theknowledge management module is configured to manage technical objectseach representing an aircraft function, wherein the contract managementmodule is configured to manage fleet configurations of aircraft; whereinthe administration module is configured to manage user profiles, andwherein the mass management module is configured to manage mass of acustomized configuration from data supplied from the contract managementmodule.
 5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the industrial productis considered as a set of functions in a functional approach.
 6. Asystem according to claim 3, wherein the contract management moduleworks in a connected or disconnected mode.
 7. A system according toclaim 1, wherein in the means for processing a technical object orientedconfiguration is used in which the options and correspondingimplementation methods are selected directly in a list sorted by atleast one of ATA chapter, job category, and sales policy, the selectionbeing made either individually or globally using a global procedure thatjoins a possible application and a weight to a set of options in a samefunctional domain.
 8. A system according to claim 1, wherein in themeans for processing a functional oriented configuration is used thatsupplies a functional approach to directly select technical objects,specifying required properties of a functional characteristic.
 9. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein the means for processing allows acontract manager to start a configuration checking process at any time.10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the industrial product is anaircraft.
 11. A system to structure and manage a configuration of anindustrial product, taking account of options selected by a customer,comprising: a processor configured to describe a set of technicalobjects, each technical object either representing a product function ordescribing an implementation method for making a product configurationfor the product function, the set of technical objects representingmanufacturing options of the industrial product; a database to beupdated for clarifying a definition of each technical object and itsinter-relations with other of the technical objects in the productconfiguration by an expression of rules and constraints; and a datainput and display for interactively and dynamically using said databaseduring definition of the product, through selection of the options bythe customer.
 12. A system according to claim 11, wherein each technicalobject represents either a function of an aircraft or describes animplementation method of the aircraft function to create an aircraftconfiguration.
 13. A system according to claim 11, wherein the processorcomprises: a knowledge management module; a contract management module;an administration module; and a mass management module; all working onthe database.
 14. A system according to claim 13, wherein the knowledgemanagement module is configured to manage technical objects eachrepresenting an aircraft function, wherein the contract managementmodule is configured to manage fleet configurations of aircraft; whereinthe administration module is configured to manage user profiles, andwherein the mass management module is configured to manage mass of acustomized configuration from data supplied from the contract managementmodule.
 15. A system according to claim 11, wherein the industrialproduct is considered as a set of functions in a functional approach.16. A system according to claim 13, wherein the contract managementmodule works in a connected or disconnected mode.
 17. A system accordingto claim 11, wherein in the processor a technical object orientedconfiguration is used in which the options and correspondingimplementation methods are selected directly in a list sorted by atleast one of ATA chapter, job category and sales policy, the selectionbeing made either individually or globally using a global procedure thatjoins a possible application and a weight to a set of options in a samefunctional domain.
 18. A system according to claim 11, wherein in theprocessor a functional oriented configuration is used that supplies afunctional approach to directly select technical objects, specifyingrequired properties of a functional characteristic.
 19. A systemaccording to claim 11, wherein the processor allows a contract managerto start a configuration checking process at any time.
 20. A systemaccording to claim 11, wherein the industrial product is an aircraft.